(a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to aircraft security and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to an aircraft location monitoring system for alerting an owner/operator that an aircraft is in operation and providing the owner/operation continuous information related to the location of an aircraft, should the aircraft be stolen or hijacked.
(b) Discussion of Prior Art
Heretofore, there have been a number of patents related to tracking of lost or missing vehicles. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,321,091 to Holland, a portable tracking and locating system is disclosed. The system includes a locator device connected to a cellular modem for receiving positional data. The system also includes a telecommunication provider, server computer and subscriber computer. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,418,537 to Bird, a method and apparatus for locating a missing vehicle is described using GPS signals from two or more GPS satellites. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,532,690 to Hertel, an apparatus and method of monitoring and bounding a path of a ground vehicle is disclosed using ground position coordinates from a GPS receiver. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,365,451 to Wang et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 6,313,791 to Klanke disclose complex control and tracking systems for vehicles using computers and GPS satellite positioning systems.
None of the above mentioned prior art patents specifically disclose the unique features, combination of components and function of the subject aircraft location monitoring system as described herein.
In view of the foregoing, it is a primary objective of the subject invention to provide an owner/operator of an aircraft with information related to the location of the aircraft and the current state of operation of the aircraft. The owner/operator is at a location independent of the aircraft. The invention can monitor engine startup, electrical system power up or loss of power, opening and closing of doors and windows, G-force and like conditions of the plane.
Another object of the invention is when the aircraft is airborne, a GPS satellite positioning system will provide the owner/operator with position coordinates of the aircraft. The monitoring system can also provide airspeed, altitude and other environmental factors at regular predetermined intervals. The monitoring system can be programmed to provide continuous tracking of the aircraft or can be programmed to be on standby and provide location requests at regular intervals.
Still another object of the invention is the monitoring system can be connected to a variety of telecommunication systems belonging to the owner/operator, such as internet e-mail, text paging systems, synthesized voice telephone, facsimile and other electronic mediums.
Yet another object of the invention is the monitoring system can be easily adapted for monitoring the location and operation of other transportation vehicles such as ships, trucks and other vehicles requiring monitoring outside the coverage of cellular communications.
The aircraft monitoring system is adapted for mounting in an aircraft and at a location independent of the aircraft for providing information related to aircraft location and/or the current state of the operation of the aircraft. The monitoring system broadly includes an aircraft-tracking device adapted for mounting on the aircraft and a server computer adapted for communicating with an aircraft owner/operator.
The aircraft-tracking device includes a signal antenna adapted for mounting on the aircraft and adapted for receiving radio frequency signals from a GPS satellite positioning system. The aircraft-tracking device also includes a GPS decoder connected to the radio signal antenna for decoding the location position coordinates received from the GPS satellite positioning system. Further, the aircraft-tracking device includes a microprocessor with a non-volatile memory connected to the decoder and a two-way satellite communication transceiver. The transceiver is connected to a signal receiving antenna. The signal receiving antenna is adapted for transmitting and receiving two-way satellite communications with a satellite communication system. The satellite communication system is adapted for using ground stations to connect the aircraft-tracking device to the server computer either directly or via a telecommunications service such as the internet.
The server computer is a microprocessor with a commercial operating software system. The computer is adapted for receiving two-way aircraft operation data transmissions via the satellite communication service. The server computer is adapted for connection by a telecommunication system to the owner/operator and alerting the owner/operator as to the aircraft""s location and/or the current state of operation of the aircraft.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent to those familiar with various types vehicle monitoring systems and the use position coordinates from GPS satellite positioning system and communicating with a two-way satellite communication system when reviewing the following detailed description, showing novel construction, combination, and elements as herein described, and more particularly defined by the claims, it being understood that changes in the embodiments to the herein disclosed invention are meant to be included as coming within the scope of the claims, except insofar as they may be precluded by the prior art.